How good of a puncher is he at the 154/160 lb weight class? I feel that he is one of the few fighters that has gotten more power to his punches as he rose up in weight class. Not that he's a pure power puncher by any means but he's gotten a string of KOs (one highlight reel KO in Williams) in the later stages of his career. I feel his power could be comparable to guys like Hagler, Nunn, or McCallum.
His KO of Paul Williams was bloody brilliant. One of the best recent KOs I can think of. Sergio could crack.
More of a sharp puncher than a really heavy one. The Williams KO is a beauty, but more about timing and precision than brute power. He's more in the league of Hagler than of guys like Jackson, Benn, Eubank, McClellan, Jones and Golovkin (most of these are bigger men, though). Even Trinidad might have been a heavier puncher at MW.
Just as speed can be power, timing can be power... at least in the sport of boxing. It seems too often in these parts people are looking for Home Run Derby power which has little to do with actual sport. Martinez had excellent speed, very quick delivery and top rate timing. I would say he had elite power when healthy.
Wasn't he healthy against Chavez jr? I can't see Chavez jr taking all those punches from Golovkin, Jackson or McClellan.
Should have a KO victory over Cintron. Not that having that officially would by itself give him some fearsome reputation or anything, but toss in PTP II, dropping Macklin twice late (power is supposed to fade in the championship rounds, especially for reflexive-based fighters), putting the Shamgod dribble on Dzinziruk, along with a host of so-so KO scalps like Shark Attack, Baby Roman and Stone - and we have evidence of someone whose punch was a bit more respectable than his career 50% stoppage rate would suggest.
He was 37 years old and his knee was already toast. I can vouch for a bad knee taking away all your explosion, balance and confidence in applying your power... whatever the sport.
Ok. I didn't know that his knee was that bad already then. If that was the case, of course it would have an adverse effect on his power. But his movement looked fine to me. He looked much better than he did against Cotto. Anyhow for me his power is still very good rather than absolute elite. Taking flush shots for him spelled trouble for most, but it still doesn't really compare to how Jackson and Golovkin hurt guys with just about everything they land. Like Jackson for example made McCallum wobble with a somewhat glancing hook at the top of his head or how Golovkin KO'd Rubio. The times I've watched Sergio I've seen more of a sharp, skillful executer than that kind of scary power.
